Conventional fishing equipment includes a fishing pole, a reel mounted on the fishing pole and fishing line wound around the reel and extending from the fishing pole. The end of the fishing line is typically connected to a fishing hook or fastener for attaching a fishing lure or other fish catching device.
The fasteners are typically either a "snap leader" or a "snap swivel." A snap leader is a relatively short (usually 6 to 18 inches in length) piece of fishing line or metal wire. One end of the leader has a closed-eye loop for affixing the fishing line, while the other end typically includes a resilient clip. The clip may be connected or disconnected to a number of different fishing lures without connecting the fishing line directly to those lures.
A snap swivel is a fastener having a closed-eye loop for affixing the fishing line, while the other end typically includes a resilient clip. A pivot member is located between the eye loop end and the clip end, thereby allowing the two ends to rotate, or swivel, with respect to each other without twisting the fishing line. The clip, as with the leader, may be connected or disconnected to a number of different fishing lures without connecting the fishing line directly to those lures.
Conventional fishing hooks, fasteners and lures are affixed to the fishing line with a knot. Specifically, the fishing line is inserted through the eye loop in a fishing hook or fastener and tying the line thereto. These connections are difficult to make and inefficient to use. The strength of a traditional monofilament fishing line is severely reduced if formed into a knot, due to the stresses and deformation introduced thereby. The knot thus becomes a "weak link" in the fishing equipment.
Further, tying fishing hooks, fasteners or lures to a fishing line is difficult for many fisherpersons. The physical effects of age, such as arthritis and poor eye sight, and other physical handicaps often create difficulty in forming a proper knot in fishing lines which are typically thin and made of a translucent, slick material. Weather conditions and darkness also increase the difficulty of properly tying a strong knot. Time is often an essential element to fishing, therefore, the slow, cumbersome process of tying a knot reduces the amount of productive fishing.
What is needed is a fishing line connector, and a method of attaching a fishing line thereto, that will provide a strong connection to the fishing line without requiring the tying of a knot.